St. Landry democrat., 1887-01-29
FOR DECENCY'S SAKE.

CHICAGO Jan. 20-Thc marriag &c Of Miss
Nina Clark Van Zandt to Mr.. August Vim
7 cent Theodore Spies has been Indefinitely
postponed on account Of Sheriff Matson
positively refusing to alFoW the ceremony
to be performed III the JAIL The parents
of Miss Van Zandt, after talking the
matter over and consulting with
Captain Black and Sh"riT Matson,
came to the conclusion yesterday
morning that it WOGid b. best for
their daughter not 10 wear orange
blossoms just at present. Miss Van Idndt
however, will be granted The usual priv
ilcgcs Of the jail, and sh" viii be per
mttcd 10 see her sweetheart, nr as much
of him as is visible, through TIC bars just
the same as heretofore, Mss Emma Spies
slept with her brothers bctrOthcd at
the Huron Street House on Tuesday
night. When they awolic yesterday morn
+ ing they were shocked On reading the
morning papers to learn that Sheriff Mat
/ son would not allow August and Nina to
/ be joined III the building under his care.
Yesterday, though, she learned that the
/ information was only too true. She
! was very much affected By the
] news and refused to be com
forted Her father had gone to his
place of business. At nire O'Clock Miss
/ Spies and her Was-to-haye-bcon sister-in-
law got into a coupe and were driven to
| Captain Blacks Office On Dearborn street
/ They took the captain over 10 Kirk S, and
| then they had consultation with Mr.. Van
| Zandt.
i All were greatly grieved over the out -
come of the matter. and Ms Van Nundt's
white face was wet with tears. Her
father urged her to be calm and bidc her
time Captain Black assured her that .,
there was no law in the State by which
the sheriff could be compelled to admit
her to the jail. Miss SPECS had moth
ing to offer Miss Van Zandt
sobbcd that she would 90 to the
sheriff himself and bescecn him to recon
slider his determination. The efforts Of
the other three We're powerleSs for a time
in quoting her, bat she was finally
soothed by Captain Black.
At about eleven O'Clock Mr. Van Xardt
left the factory and visited Sheriff Matson.
They had long talk over tho matter and
the father went away with The under
standing that for time he would
cease to think of having the mar
riage performed in the jail. The sheriff
told him his daughter could visit Spies as
often as the regular rules Of the Jail would
permit. As Mr.. Van Zandt turned to go
he remarked, in q relieved tone: We'll,
IL > ali over 1Oi luc present. uc IIdFftd9t
has been postponed with Ihc consent of
my daughter, and all we want now is to be
let alone
No visitors were allowed in the jail yes
terday morning between the hours of nine
and ten o'clock, when the SocldIstlc lover
and his confreres walk in the corridors.
KalsOminers were carrying in buckets of
colored wash, and this was ostensibly the
reason for excluding callers. the real rea-.
son, as strongly suspected, being to pre-
vent Miss Van Zandt from seeing Spies.
The imprisoned bridegroom sent one la
comic sentence hurting through the wire
netting: There is nothing for me to say;
our relations are iu st the same, despite :
the orders of the sheriff. :
Shortly before twelve o'clock Miss Spiess,
and Miss Van Zandt came into the
Criminal Court building, passed through
the hall with the tiled floor and We're Just,
going out of the little door which leads to
the courtyard, on the other side of which
is the Jail, when the guard blandly
stopped them. The ladies assumed aston
ishment and said, both together:
''Why, we want to see MI Spies"
''You can't see him this morning. said
the suave, but inflexble guard. Again
they calculated in chorus;
''Why, we are his relative5.'' and Miss
Spies said: Il am his sister," to which
Miss Van Zandt added impressvely:
'And am Miss Van Zandt,n with
an open sesame on the 'sI'' which
ought to have started every bolt in the
building but which did not. They had to
content themselves with an epistle writ
ten in pencil on pad loaned by one of the
Criminal Court reporters. They left the
following note:
DEAREST Reconsideration and I called to
see you this morning, but the jail was being
cleaned and we were not admitted We will
call again and hope for better success. Yours,
NINA.
TIE sHERIFr's POSITION.
Concerning the Spics-Van Zandt mar
riage, Sheriff Matson says that he pro
hibts the ceremony simply on the ground
of public decency, because his prisoner is
condemned to hang. just as soon,
he adds, as the Supreme Court.
either by ordering q rehearing or b
any other move, makes it probable
that his prisoner Will not be executed, he
will withdraw any opposition to the mar
riagc in ''murderers row. For the pres
emit however, and so long as there appears
no hope for Spies to escape the hangman's
moose the sheriff announces that he
will prevent d ceremony in the jail.
He does this, he says, solely out Of regard >
for public policy and with regard SIMPLY
for public proprietv, just as he would
prevent marriage at the poor-house
among the inmates there or 1T the insane '
asylum among the inmates there.
To be Prevented by the Military, If Nee
essary.
WASHINGTON. Jan. 20.-SOme time ago
the Secretary Of the Interior granted the
Phoenix & Maricopa road permission to lay
a track through the Gala Indian reserva-
ton, Arizona Territory, provided map OF
definite location was filed at the depart
ment and the consent Of the Indians OBJ
tanned Neither of these conditions have
as vet been complied with, but the rail